King of War
by PhantomWraith
Summary: Medusa. Such a deadly 'virus', capable of turning one into fragile stone. If harnessed and mastered, one could become the most powerful being in the world. Unfortunately for my enemies, I've done just that...


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or King of Thorn.

King of War

Chapter One

Wordlessly, he stood up from his crouched position and stretched, an odd sensation filling him as he gazed upon his new form. Standing at about 6'6" in height and appearing as a black bipedal tiger with white stripes, he felt…reborn. His shaggy mane of silver-streaked obsidian hair cascaded down to his hips, his diamond hard and chiseled muscles just rippling under his black and white fur with each simple movement.

His abnormally long and unusually powerful feline tail was crisscrossed with white markings and three thick and jagged white slash markings in his fur decorated his forearms. Sharp ivory claws decorated his finger tips while four thick and long fangs sat in his maw-like mouth, his eyes a mesmerizing shade of dark mirrored charcoal grey surrounded by pitch black sclera with black slit pupils in the middle of his irises.

Legs like those of a large predatory cat that ended in broad feline paws with the claws sheathed, he was nothing short of a mighty and swift predator built solely for battle, for killing. He was dressed in the remnants of his baggy black pants that were now torn off at the knees from his transformation, a white sash was wrapped around his waist with one end hanging down to the middle of his shins in the front, and a Konoha hitai-ate on a strip of black cloth tied around his neck.

"…So it was true…" He whispered to himself, still inwardly amazed that the procedure actually worked despite the unimaginably fatal risk he took doing it. "…Medusa really does exist…"

Medusa. Once a worldwide epidemic, the seemingly viral affliction progressively turned the infected into a fragile statue of stone similar to lime stone. Millions died within only a couple years, but now, Medusa was gradually reduced to having a single host capable of housing it and utilizing its full potential power.

Naruto grinned faintly as he felt more powerful than ever before, the accosting presence of Kyuubi's spirit inside him finally having been removed by Medusa consuming it as an energy source. Just in time, too. Nearly a whole month ago, Naruto had infected himself with Medusa and spent the entire time in hiding, preparing himself for the final phase; a type of metamorphosis as Medusa takes on a physical form. Naruto got lucky in keeping his mind and gaining a greater mental capacity.

"Now to test it." Naruto mused as he held his right hand out to his side, focusing on a certain object. Within seconds, an unusual stone scythe formed in his hand. Grasping the slightly curved shaft, Naruto gave it a few test swings to check its weight balance and handling. Finding it satisfactory, Naruto tightened his grip on the bladed staff until it broke in his hand, causing it to dissolve almost instantly.

Grinning a little more than before, Naruto knew his victory over his opponents in the Chuunin Exams was within his grasp. All he had to do was reach out and grab it…

Batting aside another finger jab, Naruto remained where he had been standing for the entire ten minutes of the match, simply batting aside every strike sent his way by his opponent, Hyuuga Neji. Neji had attempted to go into a long-winded speech about Fate and Destiny earlier, but Naruto quickly silenced him with a simple stone spear that he had extend across the twenty foot gap to skewer the teen's abdomen, only to scrape Neji's side with minimal damage caused.

"It is your Fate to lose to me! Just succumb to the inevitable already!" Neji snarled at him as he lashed out with another flurry of jabs and palm strikes, only to be parried with every attack. Naruto, hidden within the confines of an extremely baggy black hooded cloak, growled quietly as his anger towards Neji's arrogance rose. The fool had no idea how much more powerful he was than the Hyuuga.

"Be silent, trash." Naruto hissed as he grabbed Neji's right wrist as the boy moved to strike at his neck and pulled him forward, causing the Hyuuga to over extend. Capitalizing on Neji's mistake, Naruto raised his free hand and brought his forearm down on the Hyuuga's left shoulder where it connected with his neck, stunning him and inflicting an excruciating amount of pain.

Crying out in agony as his shoulder was nearly crushed, Neji desperately tried to break free and attack again, but the swift knee to his gut and the elbow to his spine between his shoulder blades temporarily paralyzed him. Another knee to his stomach and Neji was doubled over on the ground, barely able to brace himself up with his right arm.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma declared just in time. The razor sharp edge of the three foot wide stone battle axe in his hands was only about a millimeter away from touching Neji's exposed neck. Had Genma been even a split second slower in calling the victor, Naruto would have pretty much publically executed a Hyuuga Branch member before almost all of Konoha.

Spitting on Neji's back as he turned away, Naruto tossed the broad battle axe into the far wall with enough force to send spider web cracks racing through the brick upon impact, the entire blade on one side buried completely in the cubic meter stone before dissolving into dust that scattered in the wind. Many people grew pale in the face after witnessing that inhuman show of raw strength.

Standing amongst his fellow chuunin-hopefuls, Naruto made sure he was completely hidden inside of his cloak. It was obvious to them that he had changed since he went from being a mere 5'3" to over a foot taller than that in a month, but Naruto didn't want to advertise his new features just yet. Surprisingly enough, his minor talent in fuinjutsu paid off seeing as the seal he placed on his cloak kept anyone with a doujutsu from seeing what he really looked like.

He waited calmly as the match between Gaara and Sasuke was called, but the Uchiha was nowhere to be seen. A jounin relayed messages between the Hokage and proctor a couple times before a decision was made; the Uchiha was disqualified. Grinning as he heard the 'good news', Naruto knew he now had a chance to fight the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.

He frowned as Kankuro forfeited his match, suspicious of the Suna genin's intentions. Naruto knew something bad was going to happen, his instincts were never wrong when it came to such ominous feelings. Even as Temari and Shikamaru began their match, Naruto began forming millions of small beetles from within the confines of his cloak before slowly dispersing them out into the arena and then out into the village.

They were no bigger than the kikaichu used by the Aburame clan, giving them the advantage of stealth and because of their direct link with Naruto, he knew what they knew. Because of it, he was unable to move while linked with them and missed all of the fight between Temari and Shikamaru. He nearly missed his name being called for his match with Gaara, but Naruto had disconnected from the swarm of Medusa beetles just seconds before.

"Uzumaki Naruto vs. Subaku no Gaara! Hajime!" Declared the senbon chewing jounin proctor, Genma, before leaping back to avoid getting caught in the fight.

"Mother wants your blood." The sleep deprived jinchuuriki stated in a blood thirsty tone of voice, his teal eyes blood shot with madness. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow from the shadows of his cloak's hood.

"You may try to draw first blood until your blackened heart is content, but you will not succeed, Subaku no Gaara." Naruto stated coldly as he formed a pair of arm blades on his forearms from beneath his baggy sleeves and let the meter long retractable blades slowly slide out of their sheaths.

In a blur of movement, Naruto tested Gaara's Sand Shield by simply trying to cut him, only to barely come within six inches of Gaara's Sand Armor. Jumping back to avoid the tentacle of sand that attempted to smash him, Naruto tried again, only with a stabbing motion. This time, the tip of Naruto's left arm blade came within an inch of touching Gaara's Sand Armor before it was stopped.

'_His sand is quicker the closer it is to his body, but slows down as distance forms between them.'_ Naruto mused as a massive tendril of sand tried to reach him from thirty feet away, its slow lumbering speed reducing its effectiveness. Dodging to the side lazily, Naruto quickly sped along its length and moved to skewer his red haired opponent once again, only faster and stronger this time around.

Gaara's eyes shot wide open as blood began to seep from the corner of his mouth, his body feeling cold. Looking down, Naruto's fist was pressed against his chest, the three foot long blade speared through his heart and left lung, sticking out his back. Looking back up and into the now-visible stormy eyes of his killer, Gaara felt pure, unaltered dread fill him.

"Go in peace." Naruto whispered so only Gaara could hear him.

'_He…He hurt me…He managed to get past…Mother's sand…'_ Gaara thought with the last few seconds of life he had as his eyes darkened and his body went slack. Coldly, Naruto tore his arm blade free of Gaara's corpse, the sand having fallen to the ground as if the strings of a puppet were cut.

"GAARA!" Temari cried out in despair as she witnessed her baby brother's death. Kankuro, on the other hand, was secretly filled with joy, no longer afraid of being crushed to death by that psychotic monster that was his younger sibling. He felt no real sadness about the loss of his brother, but Kankuro did feel hesitant to go on with the invasion due to not only the one key player in the plan being dead, but also the fact someone stronger than his brother was allied with Konoha and present in the arena.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma called out just before Konoha's southern wall was taken out by a giant three-headed snake summon. A smoke grenade went off in the Kage Box as the Kazekage grabbed the Hokage and took him to the roof of the building as the Wind Shadow's two guards became four and created a barrier around the roof, keeping the ANBU out of the impending battle.

Naruto watched this occur with cold and calculating eyes, not the least bit concerned with the happenings around him. Oto and Suna shinobi clashed with Konoha ninja, most having been disguised as civilians coming to watch the Chuunin Exams. As his arm blades dissolved into sand that flittered in the wind, Naruto formed a pair of large battle axes exactly like the one he had used against Neji earlier before leaping up into the stands and brutally smashing them down on the heads of two unsuspecting Oto jounins.

Taking to the air once again, Naruto landed heavily between two separate teams of ANBU, the roof tiles cracking and shattering under his feet. The ANBU in question jumped in surprise and tensed as Naruto approached the purple barrier, knowing exactly what it would do to anyone that touched it. One of the rookies moved to warn him when Naruto crossed his axes and slashed the barrier, shattering a small section of the barrier just big enough for him to pass through.

Dropping his now flaming axes and jumping through the hole before the barrier repaired itself, Naruto made his way towards one of the shinobi that had been with the disguised Orochimaru, forming a tri-bladed spear in his hands that was once used by the anthropomorphic Medusa beings under Zeus's rule back when Medusa was still a worldwide epidemic.

"How the fuck did you get in here, asshole?" Tayuya snarled, trying to hide her fear with anger after seeing someone get through the barrier made by Orochimaru himself for them to use. What they didn't know was that Naruto had used the imaginative manipulation of Medusa to break through the barrier, which was nigh unbreakable. Not impenetrable, just almost impossible to break through with brute force.

"Like this." Naruto answered cryptically as he formed a sharp spike on the tip of the staff between the three blades and rammed it through the box-like barrier protecting the woman, the spike piercing the barrier easily and stabbing through Tayuya's chest and heart, killing her almost instantly.

With one pillar removed, the barrier fell instantly, allowing the dozens of ANBU gathered outside of it to flood the roof top and come to the aid of the Sandaime just as Orochimaru began to go through the needed hand seals for his forbidden technique, Edo Tensei. The pale man quickly fled with his three remaining guards in tow, too cowardly and agile for the ANBU to catch him or the traitor's bodyguards.

"Spineless trash." Naruto muttered, his eyes locked on the fleeing forms of Orochimaru and his Sound _Three_. Looking down at the cooling body of Tayuya at his feet, Naruto reached out and let his hand hover over the girl's body, keeping it level with his waist. Pale grey dust dropped from his outstretched hand and landed on Tayuya's body before disappearing under her clothes and into the lifeless husk that was her body.

"Live." He whispered and almost instantly, Tayuya's eyes snapped back open, revealing pitch black orbs with silvery slit pupils floating in their centers. Her wounded chest healed within seconds. The power of Medusa over reality and fantasy was infinite, limitless, so long as there was a sufficient source of energy and a strong enough mind to initiate the act. As a source of energy, Naruto used the Kyuubi's remaining chakra that continued to regenerate with every passing minute, which would then be absorbed by Naruto's chakra and add onto his already massive chakra reserves.

"Stand." Naruto quietly commanded his new subordinate, who silently obeyed and stood beside him. Before any of the ANBU noticed that she was 'living' again, Naruto created a black cloak identical to his own and draped it around Tayuya's body before wrapping an arm around her waist and vanishing instantly, moving too fast for anyone in the village to witness.

Stopping in a dark alley far from battle, Naruto released Tayuya and quickly formed a small army of horned raptor-like creatures around him, each one identical to the one Marco had to defeat during the first day trapped on the island during the chaos at the Cold Sleep Capsule Center long ago.

Silently, each of the raptors took off down the streets and roof tops, hunting down and killing every last Suna and Oto shinobi they came across. Naruto, motionless, controlled each one from his place with Tayuya guarding him.

Remembering the snake summon, Naruto redirected the raptors towards the titanic foe and had them swarm the beast, using their razor sharp fangs and claws to easily tear into the massive serpent's scaled hide. Within minutes, the great three headed snake was pulled to the ground as every last raptor swarmed and latched onto various parts of its body, biting and clawing at it the whole time. Almost as soon as it made full contact with the ground, the snake went up in smoke and the raptors returned to massacring the invading ninja.

Once the ninja were forced out of the village, Naruto released his hold over the raptors and they instantly turned to dust that danced and swirled in the wind, stunning the many Konoha shinobi that bore witness to their chaotic power and the wake of death they left behind.

Breathing a little heavier than usual from exertion, Naruto took a second to catch his breath before grabbing Tayuya again and vanishing once more, heading straight for his 'lair' of sorts beneath Konoha's Fire Tower, the building the Hokage's office was located in.

The large cavern was hemispherical and roughly a hundred meters across, fifty meters high, with a stone structure carved out of the wall near the cavern's ceiling on one side. Simply a hollowed out rectangle with a number of stone columns supporting it, a stone stair case curved out from the left wall near the front and extended out toward the middle in front a few dozen meters from the base of the pillars.

Although he was technically a Medusa being, Naruto stilled found it comforting to actually live in a home where he could sleep when he wished and eat whatever foods he desired, requiring energy to replenish whatever he had spent from using his Medusa-supplied powers.

As he led Tayuya into the house, Naruto already knew what he was going to do with the woman the moment he resurrected her from the dead. She would become the source for whatever Medusa beings he wishes to create and make them permanent creatures instead of temporary like those he had made recently. As to how he would accomplish that, Naruto had a vague idea, but he would work on it later.

He had other business to attend to…

"Ah. I see." Naruto calmly replied, standing before the Council with the Hokage sitting at the top of the auditorium-esque chamber in the middle. "So, I am not being promoted to chuunin rank because I do not bow to your whims and yet the Uchiha is now a chuunin despite not even showing up at the Chuunin Exams or being present during the invasion?"

"T-That's not what I said, Naruto!" Sputtered the Sandaime, caught in the middle of a lie.

"That's what you said, in a nut shell." Naruto responded. "You said I was unable to graduate to a higher rank as punishment for nearly killing a member of a high profile bloodline clan, murdering the Kazekage's youngest son, and allowing the traitor Orochimaru to escape."

"Exactly, you disgusting beast!" Snarled one of the Civilian Councilmen, only for a grey vine to shoot out from within the sleeve of Naruto's extended arm and coil around the fat merchant's neck, its sharp thorns digging into his flesh.

"Do not talk out of turn, trash. I was not finished speaking." Naruto snarled as he released the pudgy man and faced the Sandaime once again. "The rules of the Chuunin Exam clearly state that killing was acceptable, even of those from high profile clans with or without bloodlines and the descendants of those of high rank from any Hidden Village. Also, where were you in the hunting of Orochimaru, Hokage-sama? Were you not fighting the man, your former student? Did you not have the chance to kill him in the past and present? Did you or the ANBU with you suddenly forget how to run or throw kunai?"

"I-I-" The Sandaime tried to stutter out, only for a heavy pressure to weigh down on all of them. Naruto's killing intent rose higher as he glared at Sarutobi.

"Be silent! Once is warning enough, but twice is pushing it! Do not talk out of turn!" Naruto hissed in outrage, displeased with the lack of manners the Hokage and Council had. No one dared admonish him, fearing the worst. "I was the reason why you left that fight alive, Sarutobi. Were it not for me, the barrier never would have fallen and you would be six feet underground right now! It was I that summoned those raptors to fend off the invading forces and the snake summon! It was I that did the most to protect Konoha, not that pathetic worm, Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Don't bad mouth Uchiha-sama, demon! Uchiha-sama is the savior of Konoha!" Yelled another Civilian Council member, this one a pink haired woman, Sakura's mother. Naruto turned his eyes on the woman and snapped his fingers, a single bull-horned Medusa raptor forming at his side in an instant.

"Devour." Naruto ordered the beast as he pointed to the Haruno, who screamed in terror as the beast charged the woman, jaws wide and claws outstretched. Watching in disgust and horror as the creature tore into the woman's innards and flesh, the Council members and Hokage witnessed only a fraction of the brutality Naruto was truly capable of unleashing. Once the beast was finished, Naruto released his control over it and took a moment to recompose himself, smoothing out his cloak as he did.

"I bid you good night, Hokage-_sama_. _Honorable_ Council." Naruto parted as he bowed deeply in a vague sarcastic and mocking manner before leaving the room and tower itself. It had been three days since the invasion and Naruto was furious with the village's authority structure; the Hokage and Council in particular.

The Council was responsible for denying him the promotion to chuunin and because the Sandaime was a spineless coward, Sarutobi was nothing more than their human puppet. It was pathetic to see the 'God of Shinobi' obeying the commands of a bunch of pencil-pushing politicians like a whipped dog.

'_He needs to be replaced and the Council needs to be removed from office. The most effective option would be to overthrow the Hokage and kill the Council, but that would require a coup d'état and that would require soldiers loyal to myself. I highly doubt anyone in Konoha would join me and I still need to build a replica of a Cold Sleep Capsule for Tayuya. That will take some time.'_ Naruto pondered as he idly walked down the streets, the sky darkening as the sun began to set. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Naruto sensed the presence of another following him. Forming a simple stone dagger in his left hand from within his sleeve, Naruto turned down a narrow alley before jumping up and pushing his feet against the walls high above the ground.

It was dark enough that he wasn't seen and the flicking yellowed illumination of an old light fixture was beneath him. Less than a few seconds later, an ANBU wearing a black hooded cloak passed under him. Dropping silently, Naruto grabbed the back of the ANBU's neck and slung them against the wall to stun the person before spinning them back around and pinning them by their throat, the tip of his dagger pressed against their flesh just under their chin.

"Why were you following me?" Naruto snarled, before noticing the ANBU was shivering slightly in both fear and submission, confusing him. The ANBU raised their hands in surrender, but Naruto wasn't very trusting of the person.

"I-I only wanted to talk to you, U-Uzumaki-sama." The ANBU replied with a slight stutter, the voice denoting the person's gender; female. Growling quietly, Naruto tightened his grip on the woman's throat before pushing her back against the wall again while releasing her, still brandishing his dagger.

"Well, speak." He snapped after a few moments of silence. The masked woman flinched slightly, still frightened by him.

"I-I heard what t-the Council and Hokage did to you. It's n-not right for your loyalty t-to Konoha to be thrown aside like a b-broken t-tool." She slowly answered, gaining Naruto's curiosity and making him all the more suspicious of her. "I k-know it was you that s-saved the Hokage and created those creatures t-to protect K-Konoha."

"What of it? How do I know you aren't just trying to gain my trust before stabbing me in the back like many other would-be assassins have tried before you?" Naruto hissed at the woman. She slowly pushed back her hood and removed her mask, something that was forbidden of an ANBU to do since secrecy and confidentiality were serious matters in ANBU.

Her long purple hair cascaded down her back and her violet eyes shone faintly in the dim light, her full juicy lips glistening with purple lipstick. Her skin was a pale shade of cream that was accented by her dark hair and eyes.

"B-Because I'm not the only one t-that thinks you were ch-cheated." The woman stuttered out as Naruto detected several more ANBU nearby, who soon appeared in the alley with them. Before Naruto could call them out on their 'bluff', the new arrivals got down on one knee and bowed before him in submission, baffling him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Naruto inquired as he took a step back in shock, the dagger having fallen from his hand and dissolved before it even hit the ground. There were at least seventy ANBU kneeling all around him and nearly another five dozen more on the roof tops doing similar acts.

"We ANBU feel that Konoha has fallen too far from grace to be saved, Uzumaki-sama. We are the only ones that believe you are the one person capable of bringing Konoha back into the light." The woman- having lost her stutter- replied calmly as she, too, kneeled down in front of him. "My name is Uzuki Yuugao and I, along with the rest of the ANBU present, vow our loyalty to you."

"Why would you think I care about Konoha? Why would you pledge your loyalty to me, the resident 'demon' of the village?" Naruto growled quietly in both suspicion and confusion, flexing his claws as he prepared to fight just in case they were really trying to kill him. It was simply unheard of! Nearly a hundred and fifty ANBU just suddenly vowing their loyalty to the most hated and despised person in the village after an invasion? It just had to be a trick…right?

"Because you wouldn't have rescued the Hokage or joined in the fight if you didn't. You wouldn't have stayed behind. Anyone else in your position would have simply fled the village in the middle of the invasion and never looked back." Yuugao responded as she looked up at him. Naruto scowled, knowing she had a point. Despite his hatred of the citizens of Konoha, Naruto still cherished the village and wished to protect it.

However, he still didn't believe them. He had been betrayed and tricked too many times as a child to trust anyone so easily. Clenching his fists and spitting on the ground at Yuugao's feet, Naruto snarled at the woman.

"You lie. I want nothing to do with you or anyone else. Leave me alone or risk the consequences." He challenged before quickly fleeing the area. None of the ANBU moved or gave chase. They simply stood up and looked in the general direction he had gone before leaving the area. Yuugao stayed for a few minutes longer until everyone was gone.

She knew that they had chosen the right person to lead the resistance against the Sandaime and Council. The only problem was convincing Naruto that they were telling the truth. Sighing quietly to herself, Yuugao turned and left, silently vowing to do just that no matter how long it took. She could only hope it wasn't too late when he eventually does come around…


End file.
